Shloka 7

Śakaṭa-bhañjana, Naming by Garga, Dāmodara and Yamala-arjuna, and the Move to Vṛndāvana

Devanagari script

यशोदा शकटारूढभग्नभाण्डकपालिकाः शकटं चार्चयाम् आस दधिपुष्पफलाक्षतैः

Transliteration

yaśodā śakaṭārūḍhabhagnabhāṇḍakapālikāḥ śakaṭaṃ cārcayām āsa dadhipuṣpaphalākṣataiḥ

Translation

Yaśodā, gathering up the shattered pots and their broken shards that had been on the cart, proceeded to worship that very cart with curds, flowers, fruits, and unbroken grains.

Word by Word

• यशोदा: Yaśodā
• यशोदा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यशोदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — subject

• शकटारूढभग्नभाण्डकपालिकाः: broken pot-sherds that had been on the cart
• शकटारूढभग्नभाण्डकपालिकाः: Karta (Appositional/कर्तृसहचर)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकट-आरूढ-भग्न-भाण्ड-कपालिका (प्रातिपदिक; शकट + आरूढ + भग्न + भाण्ड + कपालिका)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘कपालिकाः’ (potsherds) with qualifiers; subject-complement/associated items

• शकटम्: the cart
• शकटम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शकट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — कर्म (object of worship)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) — conjunction ‘and’

• अर्चयाम्: worshipped
• अर्चयाम्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-पर्याय/परस्मैपद-परिप्रयोगे: ‘अर्चयाम्’ = लिट्/लुङ्-प्रयोगे 1st person singular (archaic/periphrastic perfect element) — ‘I worshipped’ (with ‘आस’ as periphrastic support)

• आस: did/was (aux.)
• आस: Kriya (Auxiliary/सहायकक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — सहायकक्रिया (auxiliary) in periphrastic construction

• दधिपुष्पफलाक्षतैः: with curd, flowers, fruits, and unbroken grains (akṣata)
• दधिपुष्पफलाक्षतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि-पुष्प-फल-अक्षत (प्रातिपदिक; दधि + पुष्प + फल + अक्षत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — करण (instrument/means)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He manifests in Vraja to safeguard devotees and overturn hostile forces while drawing hearts into loving devotion.

Leela: Bala

Dharma Restored: Restoration of household auspiciousness and communal order through protective rites after danger.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: In the wake of fear, the devotee instinctively turns to worship and auspicious offerings to re-center life around the sacred.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: When crisis strikes, respond with grounded sāttvika practices—prayer, gratitude, and protective rituals—rather than panic.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān is approached through concrete, affectionate acts in the world; the material sphere becomes a mode of divine service (śeṣatva).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Bhakti Type: Vatsalya

Characters & Entities

• Yaśodā
• Śakaṭa (cart)

FAQs

What is the significance of Yaśodā worshipping the cart in the Vishnu Purana?

It shows the Vraja household’s instinct to restore auspicious order after danger—using customary offerings—while the narrative hints that the true protection ultimately rests with the divine presence of the avatāra.

How does Sage Parāśara frame everyday ritual in the Krishna narrative?

Parāśara presents common domestic rites (pūjā with curds, flowers, fruit, akṣata) as part of lived dharma, set against extraordinary events surrounding Vishnu’s descent, where human action and divine providence intersect.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu here if Vishnu is not named in the verse?

Even without explicit naming, the episode belongs to the avatāra narrative: the apparent cause (cart, mishap) is secondary, and the Purāṇic intent is to point to Vishnu’s supreme governance operating through ordinary scenes.